Millage restoration measure rejected

Wednesday

Aug 7, 2013 at 1:00 AM

Three precincts in Cass County and two in Branch County doomed a ballot measure Tuesday inSt. Joseph County's nine school districts.

By Jef RietsmaJournal Correspondent

Three precincts in Cass County and two in Branch County doomed a ballot measure Tuesday in St. Joseph County’s nine school districts.A request to restore nearly three-tenths of a mill to the maximum rate of 2.75 mills for funding special-education services failed, 1,150 to 1,018.The 132-vote difference was slightly less than the combined difference between yes and no votes in Cass County’s Mason, Newberg and Porter townships; and Branch County’s Matteson and Sherwood townships. In other words, the request would have passed if it was limited to St. Joseph County residents.Sally Boeschenstein, president of the ISD Board of Education, said the word “disappointed” aptly describes her feelings.“Voters in St. Joseph County came through for us, and I am proud of them for seeing the need for additional funding for our students who need it the most,” Boeschenstein said. “Considering it had the support of St. Joseph County, I’m obviously disappointed with the overall result.”Portions of Colon, Three Rivers, Constantine and White Pigeon school districts extend beyond St. Joseph County. Within St. Joseph County, the request fared poorly in the city of Sturgis, where it failed 81 to 45.Only Florence, Fawn River, Leonidas and Sherman townships had a lower percentage of endorsements than the city of Sturgis. Its school district, the largest in St. Joseph County, would have gained more than $100,000 annually with a restored millage rate.With the Headlee rollback in place, the county’s school districts are receiving only 2.4554 mills for special-education services. Tuesday’s request asked voters to restore the 0.2946-mill difference and return the rate to the 2.75 mark. In all, the potential 0.2946 additional mills would have generated nearly $620,000 annually.Boeschenstein said she isn’t sure what course of action the ISD board may take next. She said she’s aware there is a general election in November, but the request had to pass Tuesday in order for county school districts to receive the revised amount of special-education funds by the start of the impending academic year.Cass County’s Porter Township turned down the request, 275 to 160. It was by far the largest number of voters in any of the five non-St. Joseph County precincts.Using a percentage basis, the request was supported most strongly in Constantine Township, which included the village of Constantine, where 74 were in favor to 39 opposed. That result yielded a rate of 65 percent for the measure.“As far as awareness goes, I know this didn’t get a whole lot of attention and there are probably a lot of people who voted no without even really understanding the request,” Boeschenstein said. “We were the first two live voters in Park Township, and that was about an hour after the polls opened.”According to unofficial results, 4.5 percent of the county’s 48,635 voters took part in the ISD request.